Richard Wolbert

Richard "Dick" Wolbert, who for years owned Jackson Pest Control and presided over the local Model A club, died Dec. 19 of heart failure. He was 81.

Born July 6, 1931, in Pasadena to Margaret and John Wolbert, Dick was one of three children.

After high school, Wolbert enrolled at Pasadena City College. He later joined the U.S. Navy and served on the battleship USS Iowa during the Korean War.

After leaving the Navy, Wolbert enrolled at UCLA.

He met and married Carol Montgomery and had two daughters. They divorced about 10 years later.

Wolbert earned his bachelor's degree from San Francisco State and then took a job with a research company in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he developed parts for NASA, said his second wife, Mary Wolbert of Santa Rosa.

Wolbert moved to the Bay Area when he accepted a management position at Montgomery Pest Control. He later rolled out his own company, Montgomery Wolbert Pest Control, and focused on termite work, Mary Wolbert said.

The two met in 1967 at a restaurant after Dick Wolbert had taken an acquaintance from Australia for a tour of San Quentin, she said.

"We met at a restaurant," she said. "He said &‘I have a pest control company, is that alright?'"

The pair married in 1969.

Wolbert moved north and stayed in the pest control business, running companies out of Marin County but doing work into Sonoma County, Mary Wolbert said. The couple lived in Terra Linda, Sebastopol, Rohnert Park and Novato before settling in Santa Rosa in 1987.

Wolbert retired in 1989.

Active in the Eagle Forum, Elks Club and a number of singing groups, Wolbert got joy from rebuilding Model A Fords and taking leadership posts with the area Model A club.

"We took a lot of trips with the Model A group and met wonderful friends," Mary Wolbert said.

Dick Wolbert had a 1931 coupe and a second 1931 Model A that he built from the ground up from 4,000 parts, Mary Wolbert said.

Wolbert was active in church and taught Bible study classes.

"He just was interested in everyone and everything," she said. "He liked to learn about creation."

"He was a very moral man and he will be missed," she said.

In addition to his wife, Wolbert is survived by daughters Virginia Johnson of Lagunitas and Tish Ferguson of Santa Rosa; his first wife, the former Carol Montgomery and two daughters, Oona and Carol.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 19 at Santa Rosa Bible Church, 4575 Badger Road. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Wolbert's name to The Ark Encounter, www.arkencounter.com.